How’s this for an essay question: 20 years from now, what should Ocean Beach look like?

Where should parks go? How should traffic flow be planned to relieve bottlenecks? What standards should be enforced for designing houses and commercial buildings to preserve a beach-friendly, community feel?

A document that seeks to answer those questions has been issued in draft form to the Ocean Beach Planning Board.

The board is composed of elected officials who make recommendations to the City Council on land use and quality of life issues. Over the next few weeks, board members will study the plan and put together their impressions in time for the next meeting on Wednesday, July 3 at 6 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica St.

It’s a weighty — and important — homework assignment, said Tom Gawronski, who chairs the planning board.

“We’ll look at the plan and see if there are things we want to amend,” he said. “It’ll be a large, open discussion.”

Preparation for the document, the Ocean Beach Community Plan Update, has been ongoing since 2002.

The update is the first rewrite since 1991 to the Ocean Beach Precise Plan, which was the first community plan in San Diego when it was adopted in 1975.

Whether it’s called a community plan or a precise plan, the document is intended to be a blueprint and make specific proposals for future land uses and public improvements. Elements within the plan address things like zoning, public facilities, environmental quality, shoreline access and other matters affecting the quality of life in a community.

The document is scheduled for release to the general public on July 12, both online and in hard copy form at the Ocean Beach Branch Library. Gawronski said he hopes to schedule a public forum in August.

“I think people are eager to see this plan,” Gawronski said. “After 11 years, we really want to get this out the door.”

By November, the plan should come before the City Council and advance to the California Coastal Commission for final approval early next year, Gawronski said.